This invention relates generally to automating the provisioning process for distribution of wireless radiotelephone handsets, and particularly to methods and apparatus for provisioning handsets to meet customer specifications for handsets and communication services. The methods especially limit the need for human interfacing in the process and provide automated quality assurance to control product quality.
Rapid growth has characterized various telecommunication industries, most especially the mobile telephone industry. Because of this rapid growth, there are now many different manufacturers of the radiotelephone handsets used in the mobile phone industry. In addition to the multiple manufacturers, there are also multiple service providers or carriers. To further complicate matters, each carrier can use a different and incompatible mobile phone technology to power its network. Today, there are approximately 10 radiotelephone handset manufacturers, at least 4 major service providers, and at least 4 different technologies for mobile phones. This makes it especially complicated to get phones provisioned properly such that all necessary information required by either the radiotelephone handset seller or the service provider. Manufacturing technology steadily expands the numbers of handset models and arrays of selectable handset features. Similarly, telecommunication service providers adapt features of broadcast systems and business practices to accommodate available hardware features, including differentiating services based on geographic and temporal factors. The services must address both legacy hardware and newly emerging hardware. And distributors of handset packages and service agreements order a wide diversity of handsets and service options to sell, based on marketing needs.
Radiotelephone handsets are typically provisioned at different stages in manufacture, distribution, and use to install data for phone operation with diverse service network functions. A provisioning process is, in part, a sequence of operations for encoding reference data and program routines into radiotelephone handsets (hardware). This enables and authorizes the handsets to communicate via one or more telecommunication systems (services), and makes available handset features for the user to access service features. Provisioning typically requires different processes specific to many different hardware types and service systems, and each provisioning process is typically done piecemeal. Therefore, the work of provisioning is complex and demanding of key resources, especially of human direction and input. Provisioning steps typically occur in vendor factories, in service centers, and at distributor outlets, culminating in some tasks required of the user, i.e. the ultimate customer.
Accordingly, methods and systems are highly valued that can improve provisioning efficiencies while accommodating ongoing changes in the process. U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,084 to Henry, U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,028 to Chang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,191 to Gerszberg, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,954 to Cannon each teach systems for remote, one-on-one programming of radiophones, for use at point-of-sale by a retailer or post-sale by an end-user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,740 to Ellis provides a mechanical device programmed to physically enter key strokes into handsets for selecting phone and carrier features.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,756 to Piosenka, U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,311 to Lipsit, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,403 to Carroll each provide computer-controlled, one-on-one programming of telecommunication devices for network operation at their points-of-sale.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,029,143 and 6,393,408 to Mosher and U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,253 to O''Neil teach systems to inventory and distribute pre-packaged and/or pre-programmed phone sets for various manufacturing vendors and cellular service providers. Additionally, the Mosher patents disclose the possibility of a programming step as part of the inventory and distribution system.
There remains in the field a need for an improved method of provisioning radiophone handset with data and programs for activation and operation. The improved method encompasses more automation and less human interaction while still maintaining the ability to provision handsets made by a variety of manufacturers for use by many different service providers.